Here we go. Lost power this morning, and was beginning to think I'd not get it back in time to post.


Cover Art: GWBrex

Chapter 37


The heat from the fire blinded him. It blinded everyone. The sheer intensity of it cast long shadows of the tents on the wooden fortress walls, and longer shadows outside the walls on the plains. Everything was lit up, from the tents to the weapon racks to the sentries on the walls, who cried out in alarm and covered their faces. Jaune wished he'd had the sense to do the same because his vision whited out, and then black spots began to dance. He heard the burning whoosh of the air, felt the heat ripple on his skin, and then silence. Ominous silence.

The explosion that followed was deafening.

Fire spread – natural fire – but this was not fire. The ball he had summoned erupted like nothing he had ever seen. The closest was a flour explosion in a mill, but that was not as hot nor as violent as the magic used here. He had expected it to catch the tents on fire, but that those inside would have time to run in fear. There was no such luck. Tents were incinerated, their occupants turned to ash before they had the chance to wake up. Perhaps that was a mercy; perhaps that was for the best.

As the fire burned its way through the tents and caused barrels of water to explode from the sudden pressure, steam rose, and screams rose with it. Men stumbled out of tents clinging to skin burned, charred or bubbling, and there was no cool water for them to run to. One sprinted to a barrel and dunked his hands in, only to scream again as the water had boiled and his hands came out blistered and red. The lucky ones, those in the furthest tents, and far away from the epicentre, were roused with confusion, and came running out half-dressed to freeze and stare at the carnage.

It's too much, thought Jaune. He hadn't meant for it to be this bad. He hadn't meant to kill with his magic. The people he, Ren and Nora had killed before had undoubtedly deserved it, and he hadn't felt bad for that, but this wasn't a battle. They hadn't even had a chance to fight, let along a chance to prove their innocence. It's war now, he realised. Before, he could always argue deep in his mind that he was the one running away, that he was the victim of circumstance and this war between Ozma and Salem. Not anymore. He had struck a blow not in self-defence, and not as Jaune Arc. He had used magic to attack the Goddess' forces, and the realisation rooted him to the spot.

"It's time to go!" hissed Sun, yanking on his arm. The others wouldn't come close; they looked at Jaune with fear and awe, but too much of the former. It was one thing to know what he was and say you weren't bothered, but another entirely to witness the destructive potential. "We're done here."

"But the keep still stands," said Ren.

"Damn it, man! Can't you see he's not ready for that!?" Sun almost shoved Jaune at Ren but held on at the last second. He turned and pushed him back toward the shoreline instead. "This is enough of a message. Let's get the hell out of here." A horn sounded within, and Sun cursed. "Shit. Move, move, move!"

Jaune was the first to take the instruction and push himself forward, and the others followed on realising they'd have to fight alone otherwise. Their force was too small, even after he'd gone and killed a good half the people camped in the lodge. As they broke cover from the open gatehouse, someone roared from the walls, a sentry pointing. "Attack! Rebels! Heretics! After them!"

So much for the cover of darkness. The huge flames had risen over the walls now, and were casting orange light over the grassy field, and even larger shadows in front of their fleeing figures. An arrow whistled and Jaune winced, but it thunked down a good distance away. A second came no closer, aiming apparently very hard with the flickering shadows obscuring their forms, and likely even worse because the sentries were half-blinded from the fire. They were lucky the others inside were too busy handling the blade to give chase, for as much as they shouted, and as many horns as were blown, no pursuit came from the gates, and they were soon out of arrow range. That didn't stop them running.

"Keep going!" yelled Sun. "To the shore. There's no rest until we're out on the water again. Move, damn you. They'll have horses in there. You want to be run down by cavalry? No? Then keep your asses moving!"

Despite his words, there was no sign of cavalry even ten minutes later when they were a good distance away, and when the lodge was now a blaze in the distance. He could make out the shadow of the keep that told him it hadn't spread that far, but the inner camp itself must have been in ruins. The walls and the keep would strand after this, but not much else. When they reached the shore, Neptune already had two boats out ready for them, and fresh sailors rowed them quickly back to the ship. Jaune let Neptune haul him up, turned and looked back. It was still burning, even from this distance. Something like that wasn't going to be missed – not in the middle of the night.

"Will it be enough?" asked Jaune.

"Are you joking?" Neptune laughed boldly. "We could hear that all the way from here, and I'll bet every village within miles could as well. It'll do the job. The Chosen will hear about this, no doubts, and they'll come running." He raised his voice and turned to some of his sailors nearby. "Best if we're not around when they do. Come on, ladies and gentlemen. Anchor up. Sails down. I want us out of here on the double."

The relief he felt was palpable, and as raw as the exhaustion. He ignored Ren as he grumbled and walked away, and instead watched the bonfire in the distance. There was no way this wouldn't be seen as an act of war, and as clear a sign as any that the Dark Lord was active and had thrown his lot in with the rebellion. Jaune ran his hand down his face. I hope you're satisfied, Ozma. This is going to come back to bite me.

"Salem would never have cared for your claims to not be involved," said the Dark Lord. "She has not in the past, and she would not here. You were always involved in this war, Jaune. Whether you were willing to admit it or not."

/-/

Ruby had only been in Mistral for a few days now and she already hated it.

If it wasn't the horrid people that called themselves the Deterrence Corps, and whose bodies they had left for the crows, then it was the equally mean and alarmist villagers they had to deal with.

"We don't want any trouble!"

"We're not making any," said Adam, as calmly as he could. "We're just passing through and asking if we can pay for somewhere to spend the night." He held out some lien, which the man backed away from frightfully. "It's not a threat. Is there an inn? A tavern?"

The man shook his head wildly. "We don't want any trouble!"

"Leave us alone!" shouted another from the safety of their home.

"Isn't it bad enough without your kind making things worse?"

"We're loyal! Loyal to the goddess and the Schnee. Please leave us alone."

The people around them all but fled, closing doors and windows and deserting the dirty path between the homesteads in a matter of seconds. Soon, it was just the four of them, alone with their horse, with Adam stood holding his lien out helplessly. Blake snorted under her breath, and the redheaded faunus brought his arm back with a grumble. Ruby felt bad for him.

"Friendly lot," remarked Taiyang. "I can't believe we considered coming to live here."

"Yeah, well, no one would want to stay after they saw this, would they?" asked Adam.

He wasn't wrong. You couldn't compare Vale and Mistral, and certainly not Patch. The worst they'd had to deal with – which seemed bad at the time – was huntresses coming to steal away young girls who displayed aura. That was so little in hindsight; they even compensated the families well, and the children were raised to be Chosen. Life was hard and uncertain, but these people acted like it was outright unfair, and aimed directly at them.

They kept moving, long after their horse wanted a rest, until they reached one of the larger towns across Mistral. There, at least, there was some sense of confidence and manners. The guards searched their faces and asked their names, and then searched their wagon, but they did so briskly and professionally, and let them in once they were finished. They even directed them towards an inn that would accept travellers.

"The villages nearby are a little unfriendly, aren't they?" asked Adam. Blake elbowed him, but the guards didn't look angry. If anything, they looked disturbed. "A story there?"

"None as needs concern you, sir," said the guard on the left. They weren't Corps from what Ruby could tell, but locals tasked with guarding the gates. "We're fortunate to live in a town. Not all are. I can't say anymore."

They moved on to the inn silence, leaving their horse for a well-deserved rest and some water and food in a nearby stable. Adam handed over the lien that had been meant for the villagers, and they headed inside. The inn was small, quiet, and rather empty. There was no drinking, no entertainment and little in the way of movement, though Ruby stiffened on seeing a pair of women in the corner, garbed in black with long purple cloaks resting over the backs of their chairs. Chosen.

"Calm now," whispered Taiyang, as he pushed her along before her hesitation could be noted. "We've nothing to hide after all."

Ruby swallowed and let him push her into a seat, and then swept her hood back. She noticed the Chosen looking their way, but once the hoods were down and after a longer look at Taiyang, likely for his hair colour, they were dismissed as not the Chosen's targets. Adam and Blake spoke briefly to the innkeeper and came back with drinks, setting them down. The Chosen had already gone back to their own conversation, and although the room was quiet, there was too much distance between them to hear over the crackling of the fire and the hearth.

"A little friendlier here," said Blake. "Enough to take our money anyway."

"I can't say I blame them," said Taiyang. "It doesn't look like business is booming."

"Actually, there's a reason for that." Blake tapped the table with her fingers, and they leaned in. "I asked about how empty it was, and she said it isn't usually this way. Normally, the Corps are here drinking, gambling, and making a mess, but news has it they've all been drafted out the cities and towns. Out of all of them."

"For…" Ruby eyed the Chosen on the other side of the room. "For him?"

"She couldn't say. Smart money says yes, but the fact she doesn't know tells us this is all being kept under covers so far."

"The rulers here must not want a panic," said Adam. "That's good for one that wants to stay hidden, as not everyone will know to be looking out for such a person." Jaune, obviously. "But it's not as useful for those looking for him – for benign purposes or otherwise."

"Not all benign." Taiyang nodded to the Chosen without looking. "Still, the fact they're here drinking is a good sign. Means there's no sign yet."

"Unless they've already found him," said Ruby.

It was Taiyang who shook his head. "They haven't. Last one caught was before you would remember, but it was paraded and announced all over Vale. They made it into a celebration in the Goddess' honour. Even caged him, and let the people go and look at him like he was some kind of animal." He clicked his tongue at the memory. "They'd do the same here, I'm sure. I can go check."

Ruby wasn't the only one to react with alarm, but her father was up and wandering over to their enemies before she, Blake or Adam could stop him. He took a detour via the bar to buy two drinks, and then approached the table with both in hand and a smile on his face.

"What is he doing!?" hissed Blake. "Is he trying to get us caught?"

"Worse," groaned Ruby, as her father set the drinks down, smiled dazzlingly and began talking to the two women, both of whom were in their thirties. "He's flirting with them."

Worse still was that the Huntresses, despite being initially surprised and presumably on a very important mission, quickly made room for him and welcomed Taiyang to their table. They smiled and laughed back, chatting freely with the stranger. If they were from Vale like the two of them then she wouldn't even blame them, since Mistral was so quiet and so miserable that this was probably the first bit of conversation they'd had. Adam and Blake relaxed a little once it was clear they weren't in danger, though Blake shook her head and muttered something about men thinking with their lower brains. Ruby agreed completely.

"Well, he is distracting them," said Adam. "We might as well discuss our plans. We can't wander aimlessly across Mistral and hope to run into him; we need information. Since the villages and villagers have proven so averse to giving it, I think it's best we stick to the towns around here."

"If it means less chance of being groped by those assholes then I'm all for it," said Blake.

When their meals came out, Taiyang remained with the Chosen chatting away. Ruby growled and ate the meat off his plate just to spite him, and Blake joined in after her example, soon robbing him of any of the good stuff. It was before they finished that the door to the tavern slammed open and a third Chosen came rushing in. She paused to look about and spot her allies, then rushed over to their table.

There was much hissing and talking, and then the three were up and moving, distractedly apologising to Taiyang before sprinting out the door and away. Taiyang stood, waved to the startled innkeeper, and said, "We'll cover their bill. Don't worry." The woman looked relieved; business obviously wasn't doing well.

"We?" asked Adam when Taiyang returned, sat, looked down at his plate pillaged of meat and frowned at Ruby. "What's this we about?"

"I'll pay. Does it matter?"

"Depends if you learned anything," said Blake.

"Then it's a good job I did. They're huntresses from Vale, so they were open once I made it clear I'd seen the Dark Lord at the tournament. They've been sent here along with some of the most combat capable from Atlas with orders to find and capture him."

"Capture?" asked Adam, "Not kill?"

"The Goddess was apparently very clear on that. She wants him alive. Problem is, they're having as much luck finding him as we are. Turns out the Schnee are also being a little cagey on information."

"Why?"

"They think it's because the Schnee are wanting the glory of being the ones to capture him; they're not very impressed with that and weren't afraid to say it. Turns out the Schnee are playing games, holding them back and using those chuckle-fucks we ran into before to look for Jaune. The Deterrence Corps."

"If Arc has been taken over by the Dark Lord, then those people won't even serve as a distraction," said Blake. "I said if," she added when Ruby and Taiyang scowled at her. "I'm only raising what they must assume a possibility. It's strange they would send men without aura after someone they know to have it. Wasteful, even."

"The Schnee are trying to hide the state of the country from the other chosen," said Adam, chuckling. "Oh my. They must be worried the state of the villages and the conditions will be leaked back, and that the Church of Salem will take a dim view on it. That's cute. So, not only is Jaune hiding, but the Schnee are hiding something, the Corps are hiding their atrocities and the Chosen and we are busy trying to dig through the mess. That's going to be fun."

"That's the gist of it." said Taiyang. "But here's the important part." He tapped his fingers on the table. "That one that came rushing in brought news of an attack in the night on some base of operations the Corps has up north. Apparently, though it's not yet confirmed, there are rumours of the Dark Lord himself attacking in the night and setting fire to an entire garrison."

Ruby gasped. "Jaune wouldn't!" They all looked sadly at her, pityingly even. Jaune wouldn't, but the Dark Lord might, and the implication was clear. Ruby bit her lip. "It doesn't mean Jaune is lost," she whispered. "There might be another explanation."

"There might be," said Taiyang. "News has a way of growing out of control. This whole country is rife with rebellion, so it could have been a band of them setting fire and the Corps don't want to admit they fucked up. Easier to blame a near-mythical figure than accept fault. On the other hand, it could have been Jaune working with someone. It was lead enough for the Chosen to go rushing after it."

"That's news enough for us as well," said Adam. "But our horse is exhausted, and we don't want to go rushing after the huntresses. We'll spend the night here, find out exactly where this garrison is supposed to be and head out in the morning. All in agreement?"

"Agreed."

"Aye.

Ruby was the last to agree, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip. She hoped Jaune was okay, and that he hadn't given into the Dark Lord. It was hard to believe he wasn't being influenced however, especially if that was him risking discovery and his life by inserting himself into a bubbling civil war. I hope you're safe, Jaune, thought Ruby. Please don't get into any trouble.

/-/

"We'll repeat the same plan again," said Neptune, "but this time down southward." He pointed on the map. "Another lodge, same deal. Jaune, are you good for that?"

"What? Uh. Yes. Sure."

"Are you certain?" The Captain of the Trident, or the Seaspear now, fixed him with a long look. "This all relies on you, and if you're tired then say so. I'd rather we rest on the water than get caught."

Jaune shook his head. He was tired, but it would be half a day to sail down to where Neptune was pointing, so he'd have plenty of time to sleep and eat. The distraction came more from his feelings about the whole situation. He'd agreed, both to Ozma and to An Ren, to aid their rebellion, but he'd always been distant from it before. Assistance. Support. It had been easy to agree to be a distraction because it felt like more of the same, with him never really having to fight so much as wave his hands about, use some magic and stay out of reach. The attack on the first lodge had shown just how wrong he was.

"I'm fine. I just need to rest on the journey over."

"That's fine. If you need more when we arrive, let me know. We can afford to sit out on the water and let you recover." He stressed that at Ren, who was by far the most impatient of them. It was his mother and his people relying on this after all. "An Ren wants us to be a long-term and consistent thorn in the sides of the Corps and the Schnee, and we can't pull that off if Jaune is weakened or, Goddess forbid, caught in the act."

"We don't have all the time in the world either," said Ren. "The rebellion is relying on us to sow chaos."

"And so we shall, but I decide where this ship sails and when." Neptune stood tall and slammed his hand down on the table. "I am the captain. Not you. And I am assisting An Ren and the Kuroyuri cell. I don't work for you. Remember that."

Ren bristled but lowered his head in a slow nod. "Understood."

At least Neptune had some common sense about him. The pirate-smuggler wanted to prioritise his crew first, everyone else second, and the safest way to do that was to keep Jaune hidden away and avoid the Chosen like their lives depended on it. They likely did. He was grateful for the effort in curbing Ren's more immediate rebellion-oriented thoughts, even as he felt sorry for Nora, who chased after Ren as he left the cabin to try and play mediator.

"Thanks," said Jaune, to Neptune.

"No need, man. We're on the same side. We all are." He nodded after Ren. "He'll realise that sooner or later, and I reckon he'll calm down once the rebellion starts proper."

"Do you think this will be enough?"

"An Ren won't start until we have the scene set and ready. That's what he forgets. There's no need for us to rush when his mother is waiting for the perfect moment. We'll carry on as we have and make ready for that."

The Seaspear had already been moving ever since they reached the shore and was a good distance away from the lodge now. Far enough that they could no longer see it. It had been about three hours, and the sun was beginning to tease its way over the horizon. Jaune wondered if the Chosen had heard, and if they were on their way, and how long it would take them to reach the lodge if they were.

"Do you think the Chosen will have ships as well?"

"They might." Neptune turned from the table to a cabinet, unlatched and opened the door. He poured himself a glass of burgundy liquid and then another for Jaune and handed it over. It smelt of berries and tasted silken smooth, fruity, and heavily alcoholic. "Shouldn't be a problem for us, however. I don't expect they will be demanding to search every ship they see. After all, if the Dark Lord could get out onto the open water then surely he would have left Mistral already."

"There are times I ask myself why I haven't."

"Then let me ask you," said Neptune. "Why haven't you?"

"He…" Jaune grimaced. "I made a deal with him, the Dark Lord. The voice in my head." He looked up, and caught the nervous expression on Neptune's face, and the equally nervous way he downed his wine and poured out some more. "In exchange for knowledge on how to use magic, back when I saved your vessel, I had to do him one favour. That was assisting the resistance here and not just running away."

"Not that I don't appreciate you making that sacrifice to save us – even if it was for your own ends as well – but do you think that wise?"

"No. He took over me in Vale, exposed me when I could have hidden away." Jaune could hear Ozma in the back of his mind saying, again, how it was the madness that took hold. He wasn't sure what to believe. "I don't have much of a choice though, do I? He's here, there, no matter what I want, and there's always the risk the Chosen will come after me. If I can't use his power then I must rely on him, and that means he has more opportunities to take control. This way, I've been able to stay in control of my own body since Vale. He hasn't taken over even once."

Neptune hummed. "I think I'd rather stay in control of my body too, though I guess I'm fortunate I've never had to deal with that. They say only women can use aura for a reason, that for a man to use it is to tap into the Dark Lord's own power."

"A lie," whispered Ozma. "All men can use aura freely, but if all men use aura, then how much more difficult is finding me? I would become a needle among a haystack of other needles."

Jaune frowned. Was that true? He'd been told- well, he'd been told a lot of things, many of which it turned out weren't entirely true. The Chosen came and checked everyone for aura however and had even touched and searched him for it when the villagers called him out as cursed. Come to think of it, the fact they had tested him at all was strange.

"Problem?" asked Neptune. "Are you talking to him now?"

"No." lied Jaune, shaking his head. "Just thinking about my place in this war. An Ren says she wants me separate from it, but assuming this ends up successful, they're going to know I had a part now. Even if she claims she never knew me, the Chosen and the Corps know I was there and attacked one of their lodges. Will the argument hold?"

"Maybe it will and maybe it won't. That's not either of our problems, is it?" Neptune finished his drink and set the bottle back. "My job is to assist you in dragging the Chosen across Mistral, and your job is to keep that distraction up. Whatever happens to the rebellion is in their hands now. That includes after, win or lose. Maybe the Goddess will spit in their faces and enslave them again; maybe she will take mercy. If people like you and I try to take responsibility for every little thing that goes wrong, then we'll be stuck living miserable lives." He grinned. "Focus on what's around you instead. Me, I look after my crew; they're my family and friends. You? Well, it's your choice and your life, but there's no need inheriting responsibility you don't own. The Dark Lord might have some responsibility for what happened in Mistral, but you don't. Jaune Arc didn't let anyone down, and Jaune Arc doesn't owe his life to fix any mistakes."

"You're right. I don't."

"Then stop letting people tell you what to do. Take a little agency for yourself." Neptune shrugged. "I won't stand against you if you have issues with what you're being asked to do. You looked shaken after the attack. Sun said as much, said he practically had to drag you away."

"It bothered me. Killing. I… I've killed before, but it was in self-defence." Sort of. "And they would have killed me had they found me. This…" He shook his head. "This was aggression on our parts, and I murdered all those people."

"It was my plan that caused it," said Neptune. "Angry at me?"

"More at myself. I should have realised what would happen and stopped it." He could now, he realised. Jaune sighed. "I don't want to set fire to the next lodge. I don't want to kill a lot of people. I want a different plan."

"Okay." Neptune agreed instantly, and without complaint. "I'll put on my thinking cap while you sleep, and we'll run it over once we get there. We have time. I said that before. We'll work toward a plan you are happy with, then put that into motion."

Jaune nodded. "Thank you. I'm grateful you're willing to do that."

"It's me and my men on the front lines with you. We're in this together, which means that if we're not all on the same page, then something is bound to go wrong. Take some sleep," he suggested. "If I don't have any answers when you wake up, you can help me strategize. Until then, take a rest and try not to let what happened weigh on you."

"I will. Thank you again."


Basically, stop being a bystander and stop letting others use you for their own purposes.


Next Chapter: 23rd October

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